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Fringe 2008 Reviews (103)
Pictures on the Air
By Toby Lloyd
Wopsle Productions
Sweet Teviot
***
A curious production, showing the reactions of three distinctly different
men to a single shared traumatic event. In Toby Lloyd's new play the
alternate perspectives come from two schoolboys kept behind in detention,
and the English teacher set with their punishment. Depicting their recollection
of events of that day piecemeal, each of the men tells a fragmentary
version of their actions and feelings they had in the face of a horrific
and life changing discovery. While the three stories are all interesting,
they contrast in both viewpoint and outlook on life. The meat of the
tale belongs to the outsider Tom, an angry young man, obsessed with
Catcher in the Rye and oblivious to the feelings and opinions
of others, revelling in his own rebellion against society. This bleak
and grey outlook is contrasted with that of Head boy Jack, a secretly
hedonistic sensation-seeker, and with Mr. Richards, the introverted
but kindly teacher, out of touch with the pupils and struggling with
his own home life.
The slow revelation of the events the characters chronicle to the audience
keeps the interest piqued throughout but still this play does struggle
slightly with pace as the stories feel unnaturally drawn out. The seemingly
random nature of the tangential ruminations each character goes on feels
arbitrary, despite being brought into better focus towards the close.
There is an unevenness to the narrative that feels clumsy and haphazard
as the stories of Tom and Mr. Richards take precedence and Jack fades
into ignominy in the background. This is partly emphasised by the strength
of Robert Baker-Glenn's powerful and emotive delivery of the teacher's
story compared to the stilted and monotone characterisation of Joe Thomas
as the unsociable introvert. The resulting mismatch makes for an uncomfortable
disparity that stops the play from realising the full emotional impact
of the tale.
Graeme Strachan
East
By Steven Berkoff
Runaground
C soco
****
In this attitude-soaked elegy to the East End of London, Runaground
create an aggressive and physically charged atmosphere all set to a
punk soundtrack. The language weaves together Shakespearean parody and
rude and raw East end vernacular as our two protagonists Les and Mike
tell us how they met, how they fought, how they loved and how they dreamed.
While their young brutal energy rips through the play like the throaty
motorbike they dream of buying, Mike's parents sit at home, snore, reminisce
about glory days gone by and dissolve into the consumer culture.
With two fantastically strong leads Runaground achieve a suitably irreverent
and stylish production of playwright Steven Berkoff's revolt against
the sloth of his youth. Although the challenging dialogue is sometimes
so rushed so as to make it incomprehensible, Runaground make up for
it in their uncompromising physical energy and antagonistic posturing.
With an unforgettable cinema encounter Runaground have produced a highly
applaudable debut for their new company and they will no doubt be one
to watch in the future.
Cecily Boys
The Happy Prince
By Oscar Wilde
Peculius Stage Company
The Space @ Jury's Inn
***(*)
With five young actors Perculius Stage Company undertake to recount
Oscar Wilde's famous children's story of the Happy Prince whose bejewelled
statue stood over the city and wept for the injustice he saw. When a
swallow comes to shelter under the statue the Prince asks it to pluck
out the jewels and distribute them to the needy around the city. Finally
in the cold winter when the swallow has not left to fly south because
of its love for the Prince it dies and the statue's heart breaks.
Incorporating singing, dancing and playing over fifty characters in
fifty minutes these talented performers are unfortunately crammed into
a completely inappropriate space with hardly enough room to fit all
their props let alone themselves. While their humorous pieces may not
be quite Oscar Wilde's wit itself, they certainly have a lot of fun
telling the story with the swallow flying through the air aided by a
blue parasol and puppet crocodiles insulting each other on the banks
of the river Nile. Peculius Stage Company certainly take you on a delightful
flight into the imagination and what they lack in space they make up
for in exuberance.
Cecily Boys
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